Expression profiles of the four human major ectodermal lineages

Here we report a chemically defined strategy to derive the entire human ectoderm from pluripotent stem cells. Using reporter lines for various lineages of the ectoderm, the expression profiles generated were: PAX6+ neuroectoderm (NE), SOX10+ neural crest (NC), SIX1+ cranial placodes (CP). The non-neural ectoderm (NNE) samples did not have a reporter associated, but was quality controlled for the expression of TFAP2A positive, SIX1 and SOX10 negative to proceed with the sequencing. We observe a clear demarcation between the NE versus the non-neural ectoderm lineages (NC, CP and NNE) accompanied by specific expression patterns for the different lineages. The cells with potential to become neurons can be further differentiated to become functional. Overall design: Ectodermal lineages (NE, NC, CP and NNE) were differentiated from hPSCs using various small molecules and growth factors and assayed for their expression profile on day 12 (12 days after pluripotency).